say the least.”

   “Oh,” cried Vi, all her old fears coming back again. “Girls, I’d almost forgotten the Codfish. Do you suppose—”

   “No, we don’t,” said Laura shortly, wishing that the very mention of the Codfish would not send the cold chills all over her. “Goodness, just listen to that rain,” she added, shivering. “I guess we’re in for a night of it.”

   “But we can’t stay

    here

   all night,” said Billie anxiously.

   “Suppose the owner should come back,” added Vi, her teeth beginning to chatter.

   “Well, he could only kill us if he did,” said Laura gloomily.

   “Besides, there are three of us to his one,” said Billie, trying to speak lightly. But Laura spoiled the attempt by adding more gloomily than ever:

   “How do we know there’s only one of him?”

   “Well it doesn’t look as if a whole family resided here.”

   “That’s so too—but there may be two, at least.”

   Again the girls looked around the queer place. They saw a few tools as if somebody had spent time in woodworking. There were shavings and parts of cut tree branches and strips of bark.

   “I’ll wager he’s a queer stick—whoever he is,” was Billie’s comment.

   “And what will he say if he finds us here, prying into his private affairs?” came from Laura, with something of a shiver. “Oh!”

   All uttered a little cry as a crash of thunder reached them. Then the rain seemed to come down harder than ever.

   “Just listen to that!”

   “It’s good we are under cover. If we weren’t we’d be drowned!”

   The rain came in at one corner of the shelter,

   forming a pool on the hard floor. But it did not reach the girls, for which they were thankful.

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